MARRIED LIFE
'TURNING TWO LIVES INTO ONE IS ALMOST A MIRACLE, A MIRACLE OF THE FREEDOM OF THE HEART, GIVEN IN FAITH.'
Pope Francis
All God’s people are called to holiness, and that holiness is available to all in and through their
particular vocations. The Church teaches that married couples and Christian parents should follow
their own proper path to holiness by faithful love and sustaining one another in grace throughout their lives.
The call to love is central to marriage as a sacrament. The call to love is the heart of marriage as a vocation.
About Married Life
The Church teaches us that marriage is a natural vocation as it corresponds to human nature as intended by God. God created us with a natural longing to be loved by another and to raise a family. Marriage between a Christian man and woman is Sacramental. The vocation to marriage is a joyful call to follow Christ and a total giving of one’s life in love to a spouse and, God willing, to children.
God makes one existence of the two spouses – the Bible says ‘one flesh’ – in the image of His love. Sacramental life begins at the wedding ceremony. The married couple ministers the Sacrament to each other. The Priest is the principle witness of the Sacrament and blessed it.
Visit the Diocesan Marriage & Family Life page here
'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.'
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Discerning Marriage
Commitment, sacrifice will be essential and practical matters such as finance have to be taken seriously. However, for Christians discerning marriage, there are deeper vocational questions as well. The question is, is marriage God's will for your life?
For those who enter into marriage, this vocation is not always easy; but it is joyful and life-giving, a sign of love for Christ as well as for another person.
Read more about marriage in the Catechism of the Catholic Church here
